Hearing Ye Ming's words, Xu Jingyao's beautiful eyes immediately shifted to the man groaning on the ground. As expected, when she saw the pained and contorted face, she called out his name:
"Luo Fu!"
At this moment, Xu Jingyao gritted her teeth, her pupils now icy cold.
Although she had long known that Luo Fu harbored unconventional feelings for her, Xu Jingyao had always maintained a semblance of civility due to their families' relationship.
Yet, even so, Xu Jingyao never would have imagined that he would be driven to such madness as to hire a group of ruffians to kidnap her.
As for the purpose of the kidnapping, Xu Jingyao didn't need to think to guess.
At this moment, under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, Luo Fu, groaning on the ground, finally realized that he had been exposed. He looked up and met Xu Jingyao's extremely indifferent gaze.
"Jing... Jingyao! Hear me out, it's not what you think. There must be some misunderstanding!"
Luo Fu seemed to ignore the pain in his body, forcing himself to stand up and hurriedly rushed towards Xu Jingyao, still shaking his head frantically to explain.
However, as soon as he took a step, a figure appeared before him, extending a hand to stop him: "A man should have some backbone. Since you did it, stop pretending."
"Get lost!"
Looking at Ye Ming blocking his path, Luo Fu roared with bloodshot eyes, "You escapist loser, what right do you have to stop me?"
With that, Luo Fu suddenly threw a punch, aiming directly at Ye Ming's face.
In Luo Fu's eyes, the instigator of this entire situation was the young man before him. If he hadn't attempted suicide at the mountain peak, he wouldn't have attracted Xu Jingyao's attention.
In that case, they should still be on their sweet rock-climbing journey.
But all of that was ruined.
"It's all your fault! Die!"
Luo Fu was like a madman, wishing he could tear the person before him to shreds.
However, he was destined to pay the price for his madness.
"Bang!"
*Crack!*
Before his fist could touch Ye Ming, it was repelled by an invisible barrier. The punching fist, upon contact with that invisible barrier, became a bloody mess, and the sound of bone crushing could faintly be heard.
"Ah!"
Ten meters away, Luo Fu clutched his right hand tightly. The extreme pain of the fracture brought him back to his senses, but the harsh reality was something he had to face.
"Miss Jingyao! How do you intend to handle this?"
Ye Ming glanced briefly at Luo Fu and then asked Xu Jingyao.
"I will tell my father about this! As for the final outcome..." Xu Jingyao looked at Luo Fu with disappointment, then averted her gaze: "Let my father handle it!"
She believed that no matter the outcome, the long-standing relationship between the Xu and Luo families would be irrevocably severed.
"Alright!"
Ye Ming had no objections to Xu Jingyao's choice.
"Let's go!"
Nangong Qianyu held Xu Jingyao's hand, and the three of them left.
However, Xu Jingyao did not notice that as Ye Ming left, a trace of nearly transparent white energy seeped from his fingertips, eventually entering her body.
Some things always required a backup plan.
Ye Ming could sense that, given Luo Fu's personality, he would not let this matter end so easily.
Therefore, for the safety of this kind girl, he deemed it necessary to take some protective measures.
Nangong Qianyu, who shared a spiritual connection with Ye Ming, naturally noticed this as well. She gave Ye Ming a subtle, affirmative look in response.
...
Watching the three figures depart, Luo Fu stood up with a grim expression, tightly clenching his now numb arm. The fury and malice in his pupils were almost overflowing.
"Just you wait! Xu Jingyao! You can't escape!"
At this moment, Luo Fu took out a black token from his pocket. In the center of the token was an engraved skull pattern. On either side were two crossed scythes. Upon seeing it, an endless aura of malevolence instantly swept over him.
"You're forcing me to do this!"
Luo Fu bit his own lip fiercely. A drop of bright red blood fell and seeped into the token.
The moment it merged with the blood, a seductive blood-red glow shot up into the sky. The hollow black eye sockets of the skull engraving on the token flickered strangely at this moment.
It!
It seemed to have come alive.
"Heh heh heh!"
Just as Luo Fu was unsure of what would happen next, a devilish laughter echoed in his mind.
"Welcome to the fold! My child!"
Following that, the sinister voice echoed in his mind again: "Tell me, what is your wish, and I will grant it for you?"
"Any wish!"
At this moment, Luo Fu seemed to have lost all sense of perception, standing like a walking corpse. His eyes were vacant, and he mumbled: "I... I want Xu Jingyao to become... my woman!"
He responded mechanically.
"Heh heh heh! Good! I know your wish!"
After Luo Fu finished speaking, the blood-red glow emanating from the skull token in his hand slowly receded, eventually returning to its original appearance.
Then.
*Bang!*
The token suddenly cracked and turned into countless fragments scattered in the wind.
This... was as if a transaction had taken place.
And that token was the key to the transaction.
As for the price, perhaps it was the drop of bright red blood that had merged with the token.
...
"Hmm?"
As Nangong Qianyu was about to reach the foot of the mountain, Ye Ming, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped for some unknown reason and looked back.
"What's wrong?"
Xu Jingyao asked curiously.
During their earlier casual conversation, Xu Jingyao had learned that Ye Ming standing at the mountain peak was not because he intended to do anything foolish, but rather because he was troubled by some issues.
Because of this, Xu Jingyao had blushed profusely.
However, although it was just a misunderstanding, it was considered a rare encounter for the three of them.
It could be considered a marvelous twist of fate.
"Things seem to be getting complicated!"
Ye Ming did not directly state what had happened, but his slightly furrowed brow indicated that something bad might be about to occur.
"Qianyu! Protect Miss Jingyao later, this might be a troublesome opponent!" Ye Ming said to Nangong Qianyu, his voice solemn. "While we still have time, we must quickly evacuate the surrounding crowd. Otherwise..."
He looked up at the sky, which had already darkened beneath the firmament, his expression growing increasingly grave:
"Otherwise, this place might see rivers of blood!"